Hunkered down in his hometown of Philadelphia, Lowry and his agent Andy Miller let them come.

First it was Houston with an early morning call on the first day of free agency.

Rockets GM Daryl Morey and, according to one report, Kevin McHale offering whatever money they could and the chance to be part of something possibly great in the great state of Texas.

Lowry, deemed too much of a distraction just two years ago by the Rockets and sent to Toronto for a first-round pick and Gary Forbes then, is now on the Rockets’ wish list.

According to reports, though, a second go-round in Houston is not in the cards for Lowry. The team would require a sign-and-trade to fit him into its complex plans and Raptors’ Masai Ujiri is not about to facilitate that.

Ujiri, like the rest of the NBA seems to, covets Lowry and wants him back in Raptors colours.

It was Ujiri and his head coach Dwane Casey who were next up in Philadelphia filling in Lowry’s afternoon hours.

Waiting in the wings and not yet granted an audience according to a report from Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski were representatives from both the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat.

Lowry apparently needed some time to digest the first two visits before any more pitches were made.

This is uncharted territory for the Raptors point guard. The wanted man isn’t a role he has played often in his career other than on his draft night.

Drafted by Memphis, he was expendable in his third year and sent to Houston. After 31/2 seasons in Houston he had a falling out with McHale and was sent to Toronto.

Even in Toronto he had his problems, temporarily falling out of favour with Casey in his first year before Jose Calderon was traded.

In his second year in Toronto, with a full off-season conditioning program behind him and playing in a contract year, Lowry blossomed. That he wasn’t an all-star this year was more a testament to the league’s coaches overlooking a worthy candidate than it was his own play.

And it has all led to this, the summer of Lowry’s decision.

He has options and he’s weighing them all. Whether the comfort he found in Toronto with his teammates and the fact that Toronto can offer him longer term and more money than any other team trumps the possibility to play for a championship next spring, only Lowry can answer.

The rest of us will just have to wait for the answer.

FIRST TO SIGN

If Vegas had put odds on the first NBA free agent to switch teams this summer, it’s safe to say Jodie Meeks would have paid off very nicely for some over-exuberant Meeks fan.

But being first is one thing, cashing in to the tune of $19 million over three years is lunacy.

It’s not that Meeks didn’t have a decent year with the Lakers last season. He topped 40% from beyond the arc which was 11th best in the NBA. But it’s the first year he’s had that kind of success.

The Detroit Pistons and new grand poobah Stan Van Gundy, in desperate need of a three-point threat, deemed his worth at $19.5 million. Meeks, 26, averaged 15.7 points a game for the Lakers last season.

The Pistons also brought in Cartier Martin, who was 41st in the league in three-point shooting accuracy, splitting time between Atlanta and Chicago. He shot 39.1% from distance.

The Wizards held on to a key piece in Marcin Gortat, re-signing the centre to a five-year $60-million deal.

The Nets meanwhile, who already sent head coach Jason Kidd packing, lost the services of good-guy point guard Shaun Livingston. Livingston, whose story of perseverance through repeated injury is a great one, signed in Golden State for three years and $16-million.

A reminder that none of these deals become official until July 10th. As of right now they are all verbal agreements.

AND WHAT ABOUT THE HEAT

For a few hours Tuesday it seemed the Heat had done the unthinkable and convinced Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade to take huge pay cuts that would open up some $12-million in cap room allowing the Heat to go after the likes of Lowry or Cleveland’s Luol Deng.

Multiple reports had Bosh and Wade agreeing to 11-million and $12-million respectively for next season. About 90 minutes after those reports first came out they were quashed by the pair’s agent Henry Thomas who called them B.S.

The fact that the two would likely take pay cuts to give the Heat some flexibility to add to its depth isn’t a surprise. But few saw or see them taking that big a drop in pay. Bosh made just over $19-million last season while Wade was a tick under $18.7-million. Both opted out of deals that would have paid them over $20-million next season.

QUICK HITS

Cleveland got some business out of the way before diving into the free agent market. Point guard Kyrie Irving, the face of he franchise, agreed to a max deal that will pay him $90 million over the next five years. The Cavs are said to be in the hunt for sought-after free agents Greg Monroe of Detroit, Trevor Ariza of Washington and perhaps even Gordon Hayward. The Jazz, though, is maintaining it will match any and all offers for Hayward. Haward has caught the eye of the Celtics, who happen to employ his former head coach at Butler in Brad Stevens ... The Chicago Bulls did not spare anything as they wined and dined Carmelo Anthony at the United Center on Tuesday. Head coach Tom Thibodeau, star point guard Derrick Rose not to mention billboards and signage all over the place were part of the wooing package as was a tour of the Bulls’ new practice facility.

Raptors have stiff competition trying to sign Kyle Lowry

Hunkered down in his hometown of Philadelphia, Lowry and his agent Andy Miller let them come.

First it was Houston with an early morning call on the first day of free agency.

Rockets GM Daryl Morey and, according to one report, Kevin McHale offering whatever money they could and the chance to be part of something possibly great in the great state of Texas.

Lowry, deemed too much of a distraction just two years ago by the Rockets and sent to Toronto for a first-round pick and Gary Forbes then, is now on the Rockets’ wish list.

According to reports, though, a second go-round in Houston is not in the cards for Lowry. The team would require a sign-and-trade to fit him into its complex plans and Raptors’ Masai Ujiri is not about to facilitate that.

Ujiri, like the rest of the NBA seems to, covets Lowry and wants him back in Raptors colours.